Armenian army says it allowed peacekeepers unhindered entry into Karabakh

Baku/29.06.21/Turan: On June 29, the Baku Serious Crimes Court continued hearings in the case of the detention of 14 Armenian soldiers in December last year. At the hearing, the defendants gave evidence, stating that they did not complain about the conditions of detention and that no pressure was exerted on them.

In particular, the defendant Gevorg Asertyan said that on November 27, 2020, his groups were delivered to Lachin by buses from the military registration department in Gyumri. The accused said that Lieutenant Colonel Arsen Gazaryan met with Russian peacekeepers there, and the bus was allowed uncontrolled.

They were then driven into the mountains in trucks and left at the police station, where they were ordered to guard their positions.

The group spent more than 10 days there; on December 13, an order was received to descend from the positions. “On the way, we met the Azerbaijani army and surrendered,” Asertyan said.

Another member of the group, Volodya Hakobyan, said that he had arrived from Gyumri to Lachin, where he let the Russian peacekeepers through. He reiterated his predecessor's statement that they served for several days, and then he was ordered to land and he was captured. There were 60 of us, we surrendered, laid down our arms,” he said.

Another defendant, Mkrtich Minasyan, said that he allowed Russian peacekeepers to pass through Lachin and that an Armenian officer ordered them to take up positions in the mountains. "Lieutenant Colonel Ghazaryan ordered us to open fire on the Azerbaijani army if they come close to our position," the accused said. Other defendants Yuri Karapetyan and others made similar statements.

This unit of the Armenian army, consisting of more than 60 people, was captured on December 13, 2020 during the anti-terrorist operation of the State Security Service and the Special Forces of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. They were charged under various articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan - terrorism, illegal border crossing, etc. -02D-